Sunday, February 2, 2014

Josh Finkelman sues NFL for offering only 1% of Super Bowl tickets directly to public when NJ law says 95% must be sold that way

The New York Timesexplained the apparent disparity between the NFL's business practices and the law of New Jersey, site of the 2014 Super Bowl:

Section 56:8-35.1 of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act reads:

“It
shall be an unlawful practice for a person, who has access to tickets
to an event prior to the tickets’ release for sale to the general
public, to withhold those tickets from sale to the general public in an
amount exceeding 5 percent of all available seating for the event.”

While
certainly a mouthful, to Mr. Finkelman and Mr. Nagel this passage from
the law explicitly forbids the N.F.L.’s practice of providing only 1
percent of Super Bowl tickets for sale to the public. In fact, it would
seem to dictate that 95 percent of the seats must be sold that way.

...Brian McCarthy, an N.F.L. spokesman,
...in an email: “We can never fulfill all the requests for tickets.
The N.F.L.’s Super Bowl ticket distribution process has been in
existence for years and is well documented. We are confident it is in
compliance with all applicable laws.”

When
Mr. McCarthy was pressed to explain how that process complied with the
New Jersey law, he wrote a second email, saying, “We strongly disagree
with the plaintiff’s interpretation of the NJ Consumer Fraud Act and his
claims.” After one more request to clarify the nature of the league’s
disagreement, he wrote, “We will be formally responding to the complaint
next month. We do not have any further comment.”

Maynard (Bob "Gilligan's Island" Denver) slyly flashes a nipple to the CBS eye while trying to talk his best buddy Dobie Gillis (Dwayne Hick­man) into taking off all his clothes. Whoever said 1950s television was a vast waste­land obviously didn't know where to look.